The present invention relates to a chip-like electronic component series retaining chip-like electronic components which are to be distributed by a tape along the longitudinal direction of the tape.
A chip-like electronic component series enables efficient supply of chip-like electronic components retained therein, to be mounted on a printed circuit board or the like. A tape is fed along its longitudinal direction so that the chip-like electronic components distributed along the tape are successively transferred therewith, whereby the respective chip-like electronic components are brought to prescribed positions. Therefore, the chip-like electronic components can efficiently be taken out from the prescribed positions to be supplied to predetermined positions of the print circuit board etc.
A chip-like electronic component series according to the prior art of interest for the present invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,120 issued on Nov. 3, 1981, granted to Kaneko et al. The patent discloses a tape formed with a plurality of cavities distributed in the longitudinal direction for receiving chip-like electronic components in respective ones of the said cavities, which are covered by cover means for retaining the electronic components in the cavities.
In such a conventional chip-like electronic component series, the geometry of the cavities formed in the tape is determined by that of the chip-like electronic components to be retained therein and desired retaining conditions thereof, whereby the electronic components are substantially prevented from being loose in the cavities. Further, a step of inserting the chip-like electronic components respectively in a plurality of cavities formed in the tape is generally performed by utilizing an automatic apparatus in which a desired tape is set to be fed for bringing the cavities to prescribed positions, thereby to insert the chip-like electronic components in the cavities.
However, in the aforementioned conventional chip-like electronic component series, the cavities are formed in conformity with the chip-like electronic components to be received therein, and hence exclusive tapes are required respectively for various types of electronic components. Thus, it is necessary to prepare various types of tapes in a corresponding number to the types of the chip-like electronic components to be in series. Even in case of electronic components of the same type, tapes having different-shaped cavities must be prepared when the electronic components are to be retained in different positions. Such increase in the number of types of tapes to be prepared prevents the cost reductions that would be expected to flow from mass production of the tapes. Further, manufacturers of the chip-like electronic components are usually required to store various types of tapes for quickly supplying demands of the users, and hence management of warehouses is complicated by the aforementioned disadvantage. In addition, when the types of the electronic components and retaining conditions or positions thereof in the tape are changed in a step for inserting the chip-like electronic components in the cavities of the tape by the automatic apparatus, the tape theretofore set in the apparatus must be replaced by a new appropriate tape. Such replacement of the tape decreases efficiency in operation for manufacturing the chip-like electronic component series.